Richard Deverall takes on coveted role
29 June 2012
Former trustee Richard Deverell takes over as director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, next month, following the departure of Stephen Hopper to take up a new position at a university in his native Australia.
Richard has a long connection with Kew, serving as a trustee between 2003 and 2009, and is a Natural Sciences graduate from Cambridge University. He goes to the Gardens after a long career in management at the BBC, where he ran departments in online news, sport and children's programming, and also played a key role in setting up Media City in Salford, Manchester.
'It is an honour and humbling to follow in the footsteps of Steve Hopper and the other giants who have been directors before him,' he said. 'I am full of ideas and commitment and have as my simple ambition that Kew will sustain and ideally improve upon its reputation as the world's premier centre of excellence for botanical knowledge.'